This book is a tight and fresh analysis of the American legal profession and its significance to society and its citizens. The book’s primary objective is to expose, and correct, the principal misconceptions—myths--surrounding prelaw study, law school admission, law school, and the American legal profession itself. These issues are vitally important to prelaw advisors and instructors in light of the difficult problems caused by the Great Recessions of 2008 and 2020-21 and the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Aimed equally at pre-law advisors and potential law students, this book can be used as a supplement in the interdisciplinary undergraduate law-related instructional market, including courses that cater to majors/minors in political science and criminal justice in particular. It can also be used in career counselling, internships, and the extensive paralegal program market. New to the Second Edition Expanded coverage to include paralegal and legal assistant training. New material on women and minority law students who are transforming law schools and the profession. Explores challenges to the legal profession posed by economic recession, Covid-19, high tuition rates, exploding student loan debt, internet technological advances, and global competitive pressures including legal outsourcing and DIY legal services. Updated data and tables along with all underlying research

This book is a tight and fresh analysis of the American legal profession and its significance to society and its citizens. The book’s primary objective is to expose, and correct, the principal misconceptions—myths--surrounding prelaw study, law school admission, law school, and the American legal profession itself. These issues are vitally important to prelaw advisors and instructors in light of the difficult problems caused by the Great Recessions of 2008 and 2020-21 and the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Aimed equally at pre-law advisors and potential law students, this book can be used as a supplement in the interdisciplinary undergraduate law-related instructional market, including courses that cater to majors/minors in political science and criminal justice in particular. It can also be used in career counselling, internships, and the extensive paralegal program market. New to the Second Edition Expanded coverage to include paralegal and legal assistant training. New material on women and minority law students who are transforming law schools and the profession. Explores challenges to the legal profession posed by economic recession, Covid-19, high tuition rates, exploding student loan debt, internet technological advances, and global competitive pressures including legal outsourcing and DIY legal services. Updated data and tables along with all underlying research

This interdisciplinary collection presents a scholarly treatment of how the constitutional politics of federalism affect governments and citizens, offering an accessible yet comprehensive analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court's federalism jurisprudence and its effect on the development of national and state policies in key areas of constitutional jurisprudence. The contributors address the impact that Supreme Court federalism precedents have in setting the parameters of national law and policies that the states are often bound to respect under constitutional law, including those that relate to the scope and application of gun rights, LGBT freedoms, health care administration, anti-terrorism initiatives, capital punishment, immigration and environmental regulation, the legalization of marijuana and voting rights. Uniting scholarship in law, political science, criminology, and public administration, the chapters study the themes, principles, and politics that traditionally have been at the center of federalism research across different academic disciplines. They look at the origins, nature and effect of dual and cooperative federalism, presidential powers and administrative regulation, state sovereignty and states' rights, judicial federalism and the advocacy of organized interests.

This interdisciplinary collection presents a scholarly treatment of how the constitutional politics of federalism affect governments and citizens, offering an accessible yet comprehensive analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court's federalism jurisprudence and its effect on the development of national and state policies in key areas of constitutional jurisprudence. The contributors address the impact that Supreme Court federalism precedents have in setting the parameters of national law and policies that the states are often bound to respect under constitutional law, including those that relate to the scope and application of gun rights, LGBT freedoms, health care administration, anti-terrorism initiatives, capital punishment, immigration and environmental regulation, the legalization of marijuana and voting rights. Uniting scholarship in law, political science, criminology, and public administration, the chapters study the themes, principles, and politics that traditionally have been at the center of federalism research across different academic disciplines. They look at the origins, nature and effect of dual and cooperative federalism, presidential powers and administrative regulation, state sovereignty and states' rights, judicial federalism and the advocacy of organized interests.

While emphasizing that lawyers fulfill a vital but often misunderstood public function in society, The American Legal Profession: The Myths and Realities of Practicing Law by Christopher P. Banks dispels some of the common misconceptions about the legal profession to show that the reality of being a lawyer is much different from what many students believe it to be. Many students know little about what law school is like or how it differs from undergraduate study, and this book corrects common myths about graduating law school and life after passing the bar. This brief primer is a nuts-and-bolts analysis of what it is really like to go into the legal profession, from start to finish, giving students considering a career in law a realistic overview of their potential legal careers.

The Judicial Process: Law, Courts, and Judicial Politics is a complete survey of law, courts, and the judicial process in the United States and across the globe. Its interdisciplinary approach emphasizes the dynamic role law, legal theory, and courts play in the adversarial system and constitutional framework. Especially attractive for introductory law and courts' courses, this newly revised second edition presents significant insights into contemporary issues of American and comparative law and politics, including updated coverage of recent Supreme Court cases, and President Trump's impact on the impeachment process, judicial appointments, and the scope and application of same-sex marriage, immigration, capital punishment and abortion rights. In addition to photos, cartoons, charts, and graphs, the analysis includes distinctive "Contemporary Controversies" and "In Comparative Perspective" boxes that examine cutting-edge topics like the world's legal systems, the politicization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, Veteran's and problem-solving courts, Title IX sexual assaults on campus, political money in state judicial campaigns, the growing influence of the Federalist Society, "pay as you go" criminal justice, justiciability and animal rights, the dispute pyramid, the global impact of jury systems and alternative dispute resolution methods, class actions, constitutional interpretation, stare decisis, the European Court of Justice, and the judicial role in creating major social change.

How does the American judiciary impact the development of legal and social policies in the United States? How are the state and federal court systems constructed? This book answers these questions and many others regarding politics, the U.S. courts, and society. This single-volume work provides a comprehensive and contemporary treatment of the historical development of state and federal courts that clearly documents how they have evolved into significant political institutions. It addresses vital and highly relevant subjects such as the constitutional origins of courts, the nature of judicial selection and service, and the organization of courts and their administration. The book explains civil and criminal legal proceedings, the political impact of judicial rulings, and the restraints placed upon the exercise of judicial powers. Readers will come away with an understanding of the key principles of constitutional interpretation and judicial review as well as judicial independence, what factors affect access to courts, the underlying politics of state judicial campaigns, and the confirmation of presidential appointments to the federal bench. The book covers historical and contemporary court perspectives on major issues, such as same-sex marriage, the Affordable Care Act, campaign financing, gun rights, free speech and religious freedom, racial discrimination, affirmative action, criminal procedure and punishments, property rights, and voting rights.

The resolution of the 2000 presidential election by the U.S. Supreme Court's Bush v. Gore decision generated an extraordinary outpouring of literature in a very short period of time. Now that the initial furor over the decision has subsided, The Final Arbiter presents a sober consideration of the consequences of the decision for the law, the presidency, and the legitimacy of the American political system. The contributors include well established names in law and political science, as well as up-and-coming scholars, offering a broad understanding of Bush v. Gore's long-term impact. This book will be useful as a classroom text in both survey courses on elections and the courts and for advanced courses that consider the impact of judicial rulings on the government and political process.